Soidur Rahman Vs State of Assam (Gauhati High Court)
Gauhati High Court held that statement of tax determination under section 73(3) of the CGST Act does not substitute the proper SCN required under Section 73(1). Further, passing of an adverse order without opportunity of personal hearing is against principles of natural justice.
Facts- The petitioner was issued a Summary of Show Cause dated 12.12.2023 in GST DRC-01 for the tax period from April 2018 – March 2019 along with an attachment as regards the determination of tax. It is the case of the petitioner that as there was no proper Show Cause Notice attached to the Summary of the Show Cause Notice dated 12.12.2023 in the portal, the petitioner did not submit any reply. Subsequent thereto, an order was passed on 28.04.2024 in GST DRC-07 and the reason assigned is that the assessee failed to make payment within 30 days of issue of notice. It is contended that the attachment as well as the Summary of the Order uploaded in GST DRC-01 and GST DRC-07 were not authenticated by any signature of the Proper Officer.
Conclusion- Held that failing to provide such a hearing renders the second part of Section 75(4) meaningless, and thus, passing an adverse order without a hearing in such circumstances violated both the statutory mandate and the principles of natural justice.
